The Angolan and US governments have marked the signing of the final agreements to finance three infrastructure projects worth more than US$1.3 billion on the sidelines of the US-Africa Business Summit, being held in Dallas between 6 and 9 May.

The projects are part of the US-backed Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment's (PGI) flagship Lobito Corridor and involve solar power, bridge construction and radio connectivity schemes.

The Export-Import Bank of the US (US Exim) will provide US$872 million in financing to support Sun Africa’s construction of two solar power plants in Angola with a combined capacity of more than 500MW.

The agreement is said to be the largest renewable energy transaction in US Exim’s history. The solar scheme was announced during the 2022 G7 Summit by the government of Angola, US consultancy AfricaGlobal Schaffer and Sun Africa.

Sun Africa will build a 400MW photovoltaic (PV) solar plant in Lauca and a 104MW PV facility in Catete in northwestern Angola.

Today, on the margins of the Corporate Council on Africa’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit, the United States and the Republic of Angola celebrated the signing of final agreements to finance three major infrastructure projects in the PGI’s flagship Lobito Corridor. pic.twitter.com/Rw4pSPH4J6

— US Partnership Global Infrastructure & Investment (@US_PGI) May 7, 2024

The US$450 million Acrow Bridge project involves the engineering, procurement and construction of 186 bridges throughout Angola, in a bid to support rural transport connectivity. The project will receive financing and support from US Exim, the US’ Private Export Funding Corporation and the UK’s Standard Chartered Bank, as well as a commercial loan from the African Finance Corporation (AFC). Acrow Bridge is a US company specialising in the design, manufacture and supply of modular prefabricated steel bridges and shoring systems.

The third project is the US$40 million Angola FM radio signal expansion and studio modernisation scheme, supported by Ohio-based GatesAir technology, to expand analog FM radio coverage to 95% of the Angolan population.

The turnkey deal entails the supply of 168 Flexiva FM transmitters, the installation of antennas, towers and auxiliary RF systems as well as studio upgrades across the country through a collaboration between GatesAir, US Exim-guaranteed lender Deutsche Bank and the Angolan government.

In October 2023, the US government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the governments of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia as well as the European Commission, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the AFC, to develop the Lobito Corridor through the three African countries.

The MoU outlined the intentions of the signatories to collaborate across multiple sectors to realise the full economic potential of the trade corridor, building on the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency agreement signed by the three African governments in January 2023 and anchored by the planned Zambia-Lobito greenfield rail line.

The new rail line will connect northwest Zambia to the Lobito Atlantic Railway and the Port of Lobito in Angola, and will enhance regional trade and economic growth as well as advance the vision of a connected, open-access rail network from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

The Lobito Corridor infrastructure currently encompasses the Lobito Atlantic Railway line, the Port of Lobito, and border facilities between Zambia and Angola, and Angola and the DRC.

Lobito Corridor railways